RMBS

  • Ocwen ranking on watch

    S&P has placed its 'above average' rankings on Ocwen Loan Servicing on credit watch negative as a residential mortgage subprime, special and subordinate-lien servicer. The move is a result of Ocwen's recent purchase - pending regulatory approval - of Residential Capital's mortgage loan servicing unit (SCI 25 October).

    The acquisition follows Ocwen's purchase of Homeward Residential. As a result of .......

    News Round-up 15 November 2012

  • Further FHFA claim to proceed

    The FHFA is to proceed with most of its claims against Deutsche Bank in connection with losses suffered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac related to the purchase of US$14.2bn worth of RMBS. A trial has been scheduled for 2 June 2014 (see also SCI 14 November).

    In denying most of Deutsche Bank's motion to dismiss, US District Judge Denise .......

    News Round-up 15 November 2012

  • Euro RMBS hits highs

    Activity in the European RMBS secondary market has been particularly strong over the last couple of days. Granite triple-B spreads - now at 82 - are at their best levels since the crisis. They began the year in the very-low 50s (SCI 26 January).

    "Yesterday a fairly large BWIC of non-conforming RMBS was circulating. The collateral was mezzanine third-pay and .......

    Market Reports 15 November 2012

  • Dutch mortgage changes welcomed

    A new coalition agreement between the two largest political parties in the Netherlands contains measures that will reduce leverage for new borrowers while existing Dutch borrowers' affordability remains largely unaffected, Moody's reports. The agreement calls for the introduction of an annuity repayment structure for new mortgages and a widening of the middle income tax band, combined with gradual reduction of .......

    News Round-up 15 November 2012

  • Peripheral rating actions explained

    Moody's expects that Dutch, German and UK ABS and RMBS will come under minimal further pressure following recent actions on bank ratings and current proposed changes to the agency's structured finance methodologies. However, the likely impact of both factors on RMBS and ABS in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Ireland will range from moderate to significant.

    Moody's anticipates that less than .......

    News Round-up 15 November 2012

  • Two-way margining introduced

    SIFMA has revised its standard master securities forward transaction agreement (MSFTA), in conjunction with the Treasury Market Practices Group (TMPG). The aim was to create a more broadly acceptable document that can support the TMPG recommendation that forward-settling agency MBS transactions be margined by both parties in order to mitigate counterparty and systemic risk. Indeed, while many provisions were updated, .......

    News Round-up 15 November 2012

  • Further hires for MBS group

    Gleacher & Company Securities has added Brendan Keane and Robert Miller as mds in its MBS and rates division, marking 19 appointments to the team since the summer (SCI passim). Keane and Miller will both be located in New York.

    Keane joins from CoreLogic, where he was svp and national accounts director. He was also a member of the advisory .......

    Job Swaps 15 November 2012

  • PCS label up and running

    The Prime Collateralised Securities (PCS) initiative (SCI passim) has officially opened for business with a series of board appointments. The Irish Stock Exchange, True Sale Initiative and KPMG have also been confirmed as screening partners to assist in checking key documentation.

    The PCS board now comprises: Francesco Papadia, former director general for market operations at the ECB, who will lead the .......

    Job Swaps 15 November 2012

  • Trials set for FHFA claims

    The FHFA is set to proceed with most of its claims against Bank of America Merrill Lynch and JPMorgan regarding losses suffered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac related to the purchase of RMBS, following two recent decisions by the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The FHFA filed lawsuits against 17 financial institutions last year .......

    News Round-up 14 November 2012

  • RMBS takes a step back

    The holiday-shortened week has begun with secondary US non-agency RMBS activity down from Friday's session. Prices were slightly lower yesterday, although still high relative to levels in previous weeks.

    Interactive Data figures put non-agency BWIC volume at US$258m for the session. "BWIC volume is light to start the week, coming in at less than half of Friday's total," the firm .......

    Market Reports 14 November 2012

  • Servicers continuing to evolve

    S&P has released a report on US residential mortgage servicing trends since December 2007, based on data from its Servicer Evaluation Analytical Methodology (SEAM) questionnaires. The agency finds that the industry continues to evolve and implement revised servicing standards and processes.

    "During the past few years, residential mortgage loan servicing has undergone numerous changes," says S&P servicer analyst Monica Perelmuter. .......

    News Round-up 14 November 2012

  • TRACE adds TBA data

    FINRA has begun disseminating TBA transaction information - including CUSIP, time of transaction, price and size - via TRACE. The US SEC has also approved a FINRA proposal to publicly disseminate transaction information in specified agency pass-through MBS, with the effective date of this proposal to be announced in a forthcoming Regulatory Notice.

    The TBA market represents more than US$270bn .......

    News Round-up 14 November 2012

  • Opportunities down-under

    RMBS relative value beyond the big brands

    Attracted by the stable performance and yield pick-up on offer, European and US investor appetite for Australian RMBS is increasing. Demand may have to broaden beyond the big brand names to find the best relative value, however.

    Jurisdictions with stable economic conditions, like Australia and Canada, are increasingly proving attractive to securitisation investors. And - in light of falling government .......

    News Analysis 14 November 2012

  • First Amendment defence rejected

    Cook County Circuit Judge Mary Anne Mason has denied an S&P motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the Illinois Attorney General against the rating agency. The suit was filed in January and alleges that S&P and its parent company, McGraw-Hill, misled investors about the objectivity of S&P's high ratings for RMBS that later defaulted. In her decision, Judge Mason .......

    Job Swaps 13 November 2012

  • Disclosure settlement reached

    JPMorgan has disclosed in its latest quarterly 10-Q filing that an agreement in principle has been reached to settle two US SEC investigations related to MBS offerings. The investigations were in connection with delinquency disclosures for a single transaction and potential claims against Bear Stearns entities, according to a recent Lowenstein Sandler client memo. The latter relates to disclosures concerning .......

    Job Swaps 13 November 2012

  • NY CMBS JV formed

    Greystone has formed Greystone Bassuk Group in a joint venture with The Bassuk Organization. The new group will provide expanded real estate and financial services, including creative debt and equity financing, to CRE clients with multifamily assets across the US.

    Greystone Bassuk Group will combine the national reach and expanded platform of Greystone with The Bassuk Organization's experience and knowledge .......

    Job Swaps 13 November 2012

  • Servicer switches support Mexican RMBS

    Investors in 24 Mexican RMBS have replaced the portfolio servicers on the deals to ensure stable collection management and reporting, after the firms' operational abilities were affected by the recent downturn. The replacement process presented both a challenge and a business opportunity, according to S&P.

    "Replacing a servicer in a securitisation can be complicated in any jurisdiction, given the layers .......

    News Round-up 12 November 2012

  • More credit watches resolved

    S&P has lowered its ratings on 587 classes from 177 US RMBS and removed 277 of them from credit watch with negative implications, 34 of them from credit watch with developing implications and one of them from credit watch with positive implications. The agency has also raised its ratings on 41 classes from 19 transactions and removed 19 of them .......

    News Round-up 12 November 2012

  • REIT subsidiary acquisition mooted

    Annaly Capital Management has proposed to acquire all the shares of CreXus Investment Corp that it does not already own. CreXus has approximately 76,630,528 shares of common stock outstanding, of which Annaly holds 9,527,778 (or 12.4%).

    Annaly proposes to acquire the shares for US$12.50 each, representing a 13% premium to CreXus' last reported share price. The proposal is subject to .......

    Job Swaps 12 November 2012

  • Starwood launches European debt platform

    Starwood Capital Group has formed Starwood European Finance Company (StarFin), a European real estate finance platform. StarFin exists to take advantage of financing opportunities arising from property owners needing to refinance existing loans that are maturing and ongoing demand for new real estate debt capital which is no longer widely available from the banking system.

    Cushman & Wakefield will be .......

    Job Swaps 12 November 2012

  • SEC alleges RMBS fraud

    The US SEC has charged Walter Morales and his firm Commonwealth Advisors with defrauding investors over millions of dollars in losses from RMBS investments. The investigation is on-going.

    The SEC alleges that Morales and Commonwealth sold RMBS into Collybus CDO during the financial crisis at prices which were four months out of date, knowing the market had declined in the .......

    News Round-up 9 November 2012
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